In a ground-breaking agreement, Jeddah’s Royal Greens Golf & Country Club will host the first professional women’s event in the Kingdom.

By Kent Gray
A new $1 million Ladies European Tour (LET) stop is further proof of Saudi Arabia’s commitment to breaking boundaries with sport, Golf Saudi says.

The 72-hole strokeplay tournament was finally confirmed overnight. It will be staged at  Royal Greens Golf & Country Club, near Jeddah, from March 19-22.

To be staged in collaboration with Golf Saudi and the Saudi Golf Federation with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 as a guiding light, the event will boast a field of 108 LET players and will be be broadcast domestically and to more than 340 million homes across more than 55 countries worldwide.

His Excellency Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Chairman of the Saudi Golf Federation and Golf Saudi, hopes the event will inspire a new generation of Saudi golfers while opening the eyes of the sporting world on the Kingdom.

“We are delighted to be creating history by hosting the inaugural ladies professional tournament in March,” he said.

“I hope the tournament will inspire many women to take up the great game of golf and awaken their interest in this wonderful sport. We warmly welcome all the players to the Kingdom and wish everyone a rewarding experience in our magical country.”

Golf Saudi also announced it is working with several LET stars in order to promote golf to domestic audiences and to enhance the visibility of Saudi’s golf development programme and its golf tourism offer internationally. UK players Carly Booth, Amy Boulden and Rachel Drummond, and Swedish pair Camilla Lennarth and Isabella Deilert will each wear the Golf Saudi logo as ambassadors of the programme.

“I’m looking forward to being part of history with the other ladies on the tour and of course to competing over the Royal Greens course,” Booth said.

“I have visited Saudi Arabia on a number of occasions and been lucky enough to spend some time teaching local women and girls how to play; they have been so enthusiastic and I am sure that seeing professional golfers compete in their country will inspire them to take up the game and strive for their dreams.”

LET CEO Alexandra Armas also praised Golf Saudi’s vision.

“I am incredibly excited by this announcement and it is an honour for the Tour to be part of history in bringing the first-ever professional women’s golf event to Saudi Arabia,” Armas.

“Confirmation of adding Saudi Arabia to our schedule for 2020 is an exciting prospect for everyone at the Ladies European Tour and having seen the quality of the event staging for the Saudi International, I am sure this will be a fantastic experience for our players.”

Royal Greens Golf & Country Club, which is set within King Abdullah Economic City, also plays host to the European Tour’s Saudi International powered by Softbank Investment Advisers. At the first staging in 2019, Major champion Dustin Johnson emerged victorious and the former World #1 will return to defend his title against a world-class field that also includes the likes of Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, Tony Finau and Henrik Stenson, in January.